Before we start: All the honor for these characters goes to the amazing J.K. Rowling. This is simply a little one-shot about Malfoy fucking up. I might continue the story if there's any interest.

Please review!

DPOV

Where the hell was she?

Draco was stalking the hallways like a madman, searching for the one person that was always able to make his blood boil.

Hermione fucking Granger.

But this time he wished he was yelling in anger. If he had been angry, he would've been able to block out that horrific feeling that tightened his chest. If he had been angry, he wouldn't feel like he was dying from despair. If he had been angry, he wouldn't feel so damn guilty.

"Granger!" He yelled, slamming open yet another door to – yet another – room in his big mansion. Seriously, half of these rooms he'd never been in before. Why did his house even have all these rooms? The house elves seemed to clean them properly though.

"Morty!" He yelled, calling his house elf. "Where the hell is Granger?"

"Morty can not say, master. Morty promised."

"Who the hell pays you, Morty?" Draco threatened venomously. "I'd reconsider my loyalties if I were you."

"Master only pays because Miss Granger wants him to."

Well, he had a point there. It wasn't that Draco hadn't wanted to pay the elves. It's just the way he was raised: House elves were slaves you could bitch about for whatever. For the remainder of his youth the care of the house elves had been in the hands of his parents, it wasn't until after the war when his father had been sent to Azkaban, he'd finally had a choice in the matter.

A choice he'd never even considered he had.

Paying elves? The notion was ridiculous.

Had someone told his 12-year-old self he'd be doing that six years from then, Draco was sure he would've died laughing. But war changes people and with them, their perspective on things.

Draco's certainly had.

But even so, paying elves hadn't been his top priority after the war. Reestablishing the Malfoy name in the Wizarding world and building up all that had been destroyed of town… Now that were priorities. Unfortunately, those priorities came in considerable cooperation with the know-it-all Golden girl and his childhood foe Hermione Granger.

And she hadn't let him live it down if he hadn't made the drastic changes in his household with regards to his unpaid house elves. It was high on her list of terms for her to cooperate with him and so he had consented in a whim. Not caring one bit to lose a little bit of money to his house elves for the grater good.

Truth be told, he had needed her hard after the war.

To reestablish the Malfoy name, he had needed to work together with someone that had been on the winning side of the war. Someone society trusted. That Hermione was also a war heroine, the brains of the Golden trio – and thus friends with Harry Potter - and a muggle-born witch were added bonuses.

Still, he could've chosen someone else. Someone who was less stubborn and less of a moral compass. Someone who didn't glare at him like she wanted to pull out his fingernails and stick them in his eyeballs while setting his hair on fire. Someone who didn't laugh like she'd just chopped of his balls and fed them to the dragons. Someone more agreeable and fun to work with. Someone entirely different.

But he hadn't.

Because truth be told, she was fucking brilliant. Although he'd rather die than admit that out loud to her.

But it was true. She truly was the brightest witch of their age, even if she hated the nickname. Having her around pushed him just that bit harder to be better. To think bigger and bolder and get things done faster and more efficiently. They complimented each other: both came from such different worlds and such different perspectives… If they wanted to build up a world were everyone was accepted and respected, they needed to rebuild with both mindsets in it.

The old, the new.
The rich, the poor.
The Slytherin, the Gryffindor.
The pureblood, the muggle-born.
The Death Eater, the war heroine.
The loser, the winner.

… You get the picture.

For all her flaws, Granger was a brilliant and practical girl. She had understood what had needed to be done, and even if she hadn't been particularly thrilled about working together, she had complied with a minimum of conditions.

And so they had… For the past six years. And in those six years they had long since rebuilt the city into a better one than ever before. They could easily stop their close cooperation by now: Their initial plan had been accomplished beyond expectation and yet… neither seemed inclined to leave the other now.

War changes people and their perspectives…

Theirs certainly had.

He had struggled morning his parents whom – despite everything – he loved, while the rest of the world hated them. He had wanted to hate them. That's for sure.

He had wanted to hate them for making his life so hard, for destroying the Malfoy name and for making it so hard to respect them when they'd been so wrong about the world all along.

He had wanted to hate them because they had forced him to play a role in a war that hadn't been his to fight. He wanted to hate them for taking away his choice in taking sides, no, he just got the Dark side shoved into his arms because his parents had opened their doors to the Dark Lord himself.

He had wanted to hate them. He truly really did.

But no matter how much he tried, he had been only able to hate that he couldn't hate them like everyone else did. He'd started resenting himself and the fact that there wasn't one person in his life to share his sorrows and regrets with.

But then there had been Granger.

Too much of a goody-good Gryffindor, she had of course offered him a shoulder to cry on. A shoulder he had been craving.

And in return… He had treated her absolutely terribly. He fell back into his old habits of calling her names and humiliating her with every chance he got as long as it wouldn't damage their perfect picture of professionalism. He had hoped his actions would push her way from him on the emotional part – back to straight business partners – so he could lick his wounds in private.

He had wanted her gone because her compassion only reminded him of what an awful person he was, because her sympathy only emphasized all his mistakes in life and because her forgiveness only told him how much he did not deserve it. But mostly he wanted her gone because she was the only one that brought out that one horrible emotion no one had ever managed to bring out in him.

Guilt.

And he had utterly despised the feeling with such a burning passion he had felt he might die of it.

And thus, he'd been awful to her even more.
And she… She had seen right through the act and fucking stayed.

That was 4 years ago now but since then his renewed hostility had long since died out into empty treats. They still fought. A lot. But somehow they both knew that the mean things said were always in jest, like a banter of some sort. But more severe. He loved to see her riled up, the commanding magic radiating off of her in fair warning, leaving bystanders in no doubt about her power.

It was her eyes really… Those big bold sparkling orbs always managed to steal all the attention in the room. They were dark brown, almost black, with flecks of auburn and spots of gold and if enraged, the auburn glow would get more pronounced, making it look like she truly was on fire, shooting daggers of fire at whomever crossed her wrong.

It was magnificent to watch… and slightly terrifying.

Not that that would stop him from infuriating her. It was simply something too beautiful to see.

And fun to do.

So, yes, they still had heated fights all the time. They pushed each other's buttons, got angry, insulted and hurt one another. But they would always laugh about it later. They would always forgive each other…

But now…? He wasn't so sure.

Fuck, what have I done? Draco thought bitterly, his chest aching with regret while he continued his search for her.

Five minutes earlier

"Damn! Golden-girl looks…" Theo started, his eyes glued to the door the girl in question just disappeared into the hallway. She had just come back from a night out with Ginny and to pass the time of loneliness in his big mansion, Draco had invited his friends Theodor Nott and Blaise Zabini over.

"Careful." Malfoy barked, earning himself an eyeroll from Theo and a grin from Blaise.

"I'm just saying." Theo shrugged. "You're living with her what now?"

"3 months."

"Exactly. Don't tell me you haven't wanted to f…"'

"Language." Draco stated bored.

"Tap that."

Of course he had. He had wanted her for so, so long. He had wanted to get a taste of her ever since they first started working together 6 years ago, his mind always finding ways to involve her in his fantasies whenever his right hand and shaft reacquainted.

Don't get him wrong: Granger had never been ugly before those six years. But during their time at Hogwarts she had still been a child who needed to grow into her looks. Back then her hair was a mess, her figure hidden beneath the oversized school uniform and her pouty lips stood a bit duck-ish, especially when she pursed them in disdain at him.

Then, in the last two years of Hogwarts, when she had been clearly growing into her looks, the war had come between them. He had noticed it, for sure, but when lives are at stake and Voldemort walks around your house like he owns the place, sex isn't really the first thing on your mind. Even when you are a teenage boy.

But then, six years ago, they reacquainted. She didn't make a fuss about his name or background story – something about not being a prejudiced fucker like purebloods were – and she had miraculously decided to work with him.

It was only then that he had noticed the slight yet significant changes in her appearance.

Her hair had still been untamable and wild, yet now it gave her some sort of minxy look that made his trousers shrink six sizes on instant. Her lips were still pouty but no longer looked out of place, instead being the most full and luscious lips he'd ever seen, making him want to bite and nibble them until his name would roll of her tongue in pure bliss. She now also chose her own outfits, something she turned out to be incredibly good at now she finally had the money to buy decent clothes. Her attires somehow always managed to show off her killer hourglass figure, leaving no doubt about the generous sizes of her assets without putting them on display – she was still Granger after all. Yes, her outfits were always graceful and classy, yet remaining practical all the same.

Simply put, she was basically the walking wet dream for every man that breathed.

But unlike Theo was suggesting, Granger wasn't one of his meaningless hookups. She had more class, more humor, more intellect and – yes, truly – more beauty than any of those sluts he'd bedded would ever have put together.

Granger truly had the world to offer while Draco could only take, and although he usually didn't mind that, with her, it bothered him severely.

She deserved so, so much more than him, and yet… unbeknownst to his friends, he'd had her.

For every night for the past eight weeks to be exact.

Eight weeks ago, they had been celebrating that a law they had set up and proposed to the Ministry had passed first round of voting…

Flashback

"I still can't believe it!" Granger beamed, walking in with the second bottle of champagne. "It actually passed! I'm so happy! I'm so glad those kids…" Her voice broke as she sat down next to him and Draco's head snapped towards her to see what was wrong.

He found watery eyes and a big bright smile, showing off two neat little rows of perfect white teeth. Granger did her best to blink away her tears of happiness, but it was to no avail.

Watching a single teardrop roll down her cheek, over her throat and chest only to almost see it disappear into her dress - right where it showed a hint of décolleté - was his undoing. Before he knew what was happening, his finger was on the soft flesh of her rising and falling breast to catch the drop before it disappeared forever.

Granger's breath picked up and he tore his eyes away from her heaving chest only to look up into her dark sparkling eyes. Her eyes were wide, surprised, but her mouth was parted, inviting.

And then it happened all at once.

Lips pressed together, teeth clashed. Hands were desperate for touch as was the rest of their bodies. The champagne bottle she'd been holding fell hopelessly onto the carpet. Had it already been open? Neither did care to look as their tongues battled for dominance, both hungrily trying to tell the other how much they wanted the other. Needed the other. Craved the other.

Draco's one hand was cupping her cheek lovingly, while his other was moving up her dress. Granger was quick to fall backwards on the couch, pulling Draco with her and on top of her, her fingernails frantically grasping the bare skin of his back, leaving claw marks as she did.

He loved it.

When his fingers found the waistband of her panties, he slowly pressed onto the silky material between her legs before starting slow circular movements.

"Draco." She gasped inside his mouth.

It was the first time she had used his first name. Ever.

Draco broke the kiss as his fingers continued their ministrations and he watched how her head fell back onto the couch in pure bliss, her eyes closed as his other hand was still lovingly cupping her face.

Her creamy neck was calling out to him, desperate for him to take a taste, but he also wanted to keep watching her, loving the way how she whimpered and clung onto him.

Eventually, her neck turned out to be too irresistible. Diving in he kissed the soft spots of her neck and throat, sometimes biting it before kissing it again to ease the sting. She was fully moaning now and her back arched so her breasts were stuck out to him… if not for that damn dress.

Her hands grasped his hair, pulling him closer into her neck, desperately wanting more.

And so he gave more.

His fingers pushed the silky material of her underwear aside only to find her soaking wet and he couldn't help the grin on his face as he was still kissing her neck.

Apparently feeling his grin, Granger huffed. "Oh, shut up." She scolded hoarsely. "Like you're one to talk." And she pressed her leg upwards, finding his crotch and rubbing over his unmistakably hard-on.

Within the second, two fingers pushed inside of her, causing her to moan his name in ecstasy, while his other hand released her face to dive into her dress on the other side and cup one of her generous breasts. Retracting his mouth from her throat he looked upon the vision she was: Whimpering, moaning and whirling underneath him as his fingers moved in and out of her heat skillfully. Her hands clutched to every piece of skin her nails could reach and he could feel her building.

"Granger, darling, look at me." He ordered as her walls tightened around him.

Her eyes opened, locking on his and they instantly bewitched him: Black and gold were the only two colors he now saw. Dark passion, lust and want mingled with golden magnificence, ecstasy and bliss.

"Draco." She breathed before biting her juicy bottom lip, her eyes never leaving his as he found her G-spot and twitched one of her nipples at the same time.

She came, loudly moaning his name, only taking about ten seconds to rest before her hands started frantically working on his belt.

End of flashback.

Saying that he wanted her was an understatement by now. He had had her. Countless of times. Wanting was not the right description anymore for his cravings. He desperately needed her. At any day, bad or good, he came home hoping she'd be already there as well. Either to make up for his horrible day or to make it even better.

It wasn't even about sex anymore either. Yes, it was mind-blowing and by far the best sex he'd ever had and yes, they did it every day at least once, but it seriously was about more than that.

He loved to watch her cook the muggle way, for example. Her hair would be done up into some bun or ponytail and she would wear some weird piece of fabric around her neck. She would sing or hum some lovely song he didn't know and would somehow always manage to wipe her brow when her hand was dirty, causing flower or something else to stick on her forehead.

Draco found it utterly adorable.

Not to mention her muggle food was ridiculously delicious.

But these were no themes he could discuss with his friends. Even though all pureblood families had pledged not to participate into blood-purity believes, old habits die hard and his friends' families, especially Theo's, still believed themselves superior to the rest.

Theo might act friendly to Granger's face – for the sake of being accepted in society – and talk about the idea of fucking her, but it would be exactly that. Fucking. As in taking control like a superior might do with a slave or whore. Rough. Hard-handed. Without any form of respect.

Blaise had never truly believed in blood-purity to begin with, and he also seemed suspicious of what was going on between Draco and Granger, but Theo was a completely different story.

Draco and Theo always had had a bit of a competitive friendship. What one wanted, the other would surely try to steal away.

"Don't be ridiculous, Theo." He snorted. "She's the last person I would bed."

"Yes, why was she living with you again?" Blaise asked, brows furrowed. "Mom asked about it the other night but you never told us why, did you?"

"Weasel kept breaking the restraining order and practically lived on her doorstep, knowing full well that Granger didn't have it in her to really press charges against her old-time friend and ex. She's just living here until she finds another flat… One that's Weasel-proof." Draco snarled the last bit bitterly. He had been so close to smashing that Weasel's noggin head into some brick wall on a number of occasions for the past three years he and Granger had broken up – and to be honest the three years before that too: the way that scumbag treated Granger was just too abominable.

No man who claimed to love a woman would treat her that way.

Then again, he'd never thought of the Weasel as a man.

"Even after three years after their engagement got broken off? You've got to give the guy some credits for being persistent… Well, that and a creep." Theo grinned, his eyes glancing towards the ceiling, probably imagining her walking there. "At least we now know she's a good shag."

"Please, Weasel wouldn't recognize a good shag when he's having one." Draco spat, not liking this picture in his head of Granger and Weasel together.

"Since you're not going to take her… Mind if I do?" Theo asked in all seriousness, making Blaise choke on his wine. "Weasel is probably small too, so he didn't stretch and ruin her. I bet she's tight… like a virgin."

"Theo…" He tried to warn his friend who was oblivious to the fueling anger of Draco, whose knuckles turned white as he grabbed the armrests of his chair.

"No, I'm serious! If you guys want to be blind, be my guest, but I can see that the Gryffindor-princess isn't half that bad. Small waist, big butt. In fact with her tits…"

"Not half that bad?" Draco barked out a laugh. "She's fucking hideous mate. I know you've been out of the game for a while but to become so desperate to want the know-it-all Gryffindor of all things? If you want to shag that, be my guest, but don't say I haven't warned you there's a fucking Sahara between her legs that will scour your dick off. Stick in your meat and vultures will come for it. Not to mention how her boring facts will deprive you from all lust involved." Draco chuckled meanly.

"Surely, you don't mean that. You work and live with her! Something must be good." Blaise widened his eyes at him. What the fuck, Blaise?! He knew how Theo was. The more Theo was repulsed the better.

"Of course I mean that! I'm a Malfoy, a man of my word."

"Touchy subject Malfoy?" Theo grinned and Draco casted him a dark look. "You live with the girl, work with the girl. Hell, I even saw you flirt with the girl. Afraid I'll steal your precious prize?"

Draco scoffed and barked out a humorless laugh. "Please. I flirt with the girl so she'll do all my bloody paperwork because – yes – she is reasonably smart enough for the task, the ugly ones always are. But that doesn't take away the fact that she is irritating and boring as fuck."

"Draco." Blaise tried to interrupt. But Draco would have none of it. "No, Blaise, fuck off. This is important." Draco waved him away and refocused his attention to Theo again. "You needs to understand that I don't have a family anymore that would disown me if I would ever decide to put my cock inside of her, you do. So, for once stop thinking with your dick and start caring about the shame you'll cast upon your family if you sully your hands with that mudblood." For a moment, Draco was proud at how cold and disgusted he had sounded. If this wouldn't keep Theo from pursuing her, he didn't know what would.

But his smugness quickly died when he heard her soft voice from behind them.

"Glad to know your point of view then."

His face snapped to the sound within the second, his eyes wide in fear for her expected onslaught. Instead he found the room already empty and he heard quick footsteps running up the stairs.

Back to present

"Granger, I know you're here somewhere! Just let me explain!" Draco yelled again, the desperation clear in his voice. When no answer came, he redirected his anger on himself to Morty.

"I give you one second to tell me where she is or you're fired." He hissed venomously.

"She left! She left!" Morty panicked, sobbing into his hands. "Miss Granger left."

Draco stormed to Granger's bedroom. She hadn't slept in her guestroom for eight weeks, seeing they'd always preferred sleeping together in his room ever since, but her clothes had still been stored there. Stalking into her walk-in closet, his last bit of hope vanished.

Clothes were scattered all around, bags were missing: She'd left in a hurry.

A hurry of exactly 1 whole minute.

Draco fell down on his knees, taking a forgotten T-shirt in his hands and started to cry soundlessly.

The one truly good thing in his life had just walked out on him… He had hurt her one time too many. Disregarded her pride one time too often.

What the fuck had he done?

Two weeks later

"Yes, I know that Ginny." Draco sighed at the redhead's rant, ducking away from another object she threw his way. For a professional quidditch player she seriously sucked at throwing. "But if you knew Theo you w – "

"No buts! All through Hogwarts you've taunted her and made her lose a part of her self-respect and self-worth. You've watched and did nothing as your aunt tortured her inside your own fucking house and her eyes turned to you, begging for help! Than she testified on your behalf, against all odds, making sure you wouldn't be sent off to Azkaban when the Dark Lord had finally been defeated! Then you had the nerve to ask her to work with you which she somehow fucking did?! You've worked together for six years and all you guys did was fight and bicker but it somehow managed to turn into friendship and then into sex and now this?!"

If Draco wouldn't have been as ashamed with himself as he was, he would've made fun of the fact that the Weaselette's face currently had the same color as her hair, but he couldn't. Not now.

"Ginny, please. I know I royally fucked up. I did. I do." Draco hated how weak his voice sounded, but after two weeks and still no sign of Granger, he had no room left to care. All his pride had shattered along with his now very much shattered heart, no matter how dramatic that made him sound. No, all he felt was loneliness and guilt, and not particularly in that order. "I fucked up. But I promise I didn't mean what I said. I was just trying to get Nott off her back, trying to repulse him so he might leave her alone."

Ginny snorted and remained silent, her stare burning a whole through his head. She was probably hoping he'd drop dead right that second.

Somewhere, he did too.

But not before he apologized to Granger.

"I love her." He whispered. It was the first time he had ever uttered the words out loud and Ginny gasped at them. "I really do." He confirmed at her disbelieving gaze.

For a moment, Ginny continued her stare of utter shock before her gaze softened and a tiny smile broke on her face.

"She thought you did." Ginny smiled reluctantly. "Even though you had never told her one single nice thing in her life, she thought you did. Even though I told her time and again that she was imagining things, she believed it firmly. It had something to do with your eyes." Ginny waved her hand dismissively in his direction, rolling her eyes.

Draco's throat tightened on instant and it became hard to breath.

"Why are you talking in the past?"

"She's gone, Malfoy." Ginny sighed. "She came to me two weeks ago, bags in her hands and tears streaming over her face. She was in such a hurry she didn't even want to tell me what had happened, only that she was leaving and would get in touch once things settled down a bit."

"What?! Why didn't you stop her?!" Draco accused.

"Because I'm her friend! I'm here to support her through all of her decisions, not to make them for her. If she makes a mistake that's on her. I'm just there to be there for her whenever she needs me to be!"

"A real friend would've stopped her! She was out of her wits! Nobody can make decisions like that in a rash!"

"She's my friend, Malfoy, not my puppet! I know the concept of 'not owning' something is a bit foreign to you but I'm not her boss, mother or babysitter. I'm her friend. And if you know Hermione even in the slightest you would know that once she sets her mind to something nothing will stop her from achieving that goal!"

Draco's shoulders slumped. "Can you at least tell me where she's gone?"

"I think the point was that she wanted to get away from you." Ginny sad flatly, obviously still pissed off and rightly so.

"I know. But I love her."

Ginny scoffed. "If you love her, you wouldn't treat her the way you do. God, you're just as bad as that stupid pig I call a brother."

"I'm nothing like that Weasel." Draco spat in disgust. "Granger and I had fights, but we enjoyed them too. She offended me too! That's what we did. We challenged each other! She usually shrugged it off, because she has a fucking two-second rebound rate, just like me. I never lied to her the way your brother did. I never hit her! I never cheated on her!"

Ginny blinked and Draco swore he could hear her whisper 'Ron hit her?' in shock, but before he could reply Ginny continued. "You can't really cheat when there are never rules spoken out loud, can you?" Ginny told him flatly. "You two had sex. Casual sex. And she tried to read into it because that's how Hermione is. She tries to see the best in people without any evidence there is any. You never gave her any kind of reason to believe what she did. You never gave her any hope. Any silver lining. She wanted it to be more than sex, but after hearing you say what you said, I think she finally decided to listen to me."

"But you were wrong!"

"I know that now! After you come knocking on my front door after it took you two whole weeks to come here!"

"I was hoping she'd come home."

"Home? Home to what? A house she'd been tortured in? To a guy she's been working with for six years and still refused to call her Hermione? To a guy that made her feel safe and protected regardless of his nasty sneers, but then she hears him laugh and joke with his friends about how she's worth as much as a sex slave? Yes. Homey, Malfoy. She would definitely want to come home to that."

"I'm such an idiot." Draco muttered defeated.

"Finally. Something sensible." She deadpanned humorless.

Draco didn't respond but sat down on the couch defeatedly.

"Yes, please, do make yourself feel right at home." Ginny muttered, rolling her eyes. At the lack of response coming from Draco however, she took in his crestfallen demeanor.

"I don't deserve her, Ginny. I know that. But I at least want to tell her how sorry I am. I want to apologize and I will respect her decision if she doesn't want to forgive me, but I need to know I did everything in my power to keep her. So, please, I'm begging you. Tell me where she went."

"She didn't tell me where she went." Ginny reluctantly told him and Draco's eyes snapped to hers. "I would help you if I could but I don't know anything either." Ginny grinned humorlessly, summoning a bottle of firewhiskey and two glasses from the kitchen.

"Here." She said, putting a full glass in front of him while taking a seat next to him.

In silence they watched the fire flicker in the fireplace, both individually being reminded of Hermione's eyes.

Well, fuck.

What in Merlin's name had he done?